Don't Fear the (Carolina) Reaper

So I'm a chili head, partially out of necessity since the heat high grants relief from my tinnitus.

Tonight, I conquered the Carolina Reaper. Not in the style of those YouTube goobers who eat spicy stuff only to flail, puke, and cry for your entertainment... in this context, "conquered" means ingesting a dried Reaper (which is hotter than fresh) and enduring a 15 minute burn with no relief (milk, bread, etc) and inner calm.

Been working my way up gradually by introducing reaper mash puree into pizza sauce, gradually increasing the ratio until there is no more pizza sauce - only puree.

Pic related: last week's reaper cheese pizza. Nobody else in the house wanted to try it

How's the heartburn? Gonna have to try that stuff, love spicy food. Hows the taste? Some spicy stuff i'v tried at rib burn off's just don't taste good. All most a chemical taste.

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I never get heartburn. I do, however, become very aware of every inch of my intestinal tract as it travels. The carolina reaper is hands down the most delicious chili I've ever eaten. It has an almost fruitlike quality, and the delicious aftertaste lingers for around 24 hours. Other superhots like the scorpion and ghost just hurt.

Most places that have a spicy challenge will use capsaicin extracts instead of (or alongside) actual chilis. Extracts will always have that signature nasty chemical flavor to them. Granted, the purpose of the dish is to see how much pain you can take, which is why challenge dishes come with a liability waiver and rules (no silverware, no wiping your lips, etc). Not a fan of 'em personally, but they're an absolute joy to watch

I got a bottle of sauce made out of Carolina Reaper as a present and I liked it very much. It was a bit like tabasco, but not as acidy-tasting and probably a million times hotter.
I put it into pretty much everything, for example in this picture I made Tikka Masala using a pre-made spice mix, and it wasn't spicy enough. So I added a random amount of the sauce and then it was good to go

I got a bottle of sauce made out of Carolina Reaper as a present and I liked it very much. It was a bit like tabasco, but not as acidy-tasting and probably a million times hotter.
I put it into pretty much everything, for example in this picture I made Tikka Masala using a pre-made spice mix, and it wasn't spicy enough. So I added a random amount of the sauce and then it was good to go

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I love Sling Blade! Brings out the flavors of the reaper. That reminds me, I need to pick up another bottle when I go back into town.

I love Sling Blade! Brings out the flavors of the reaper. That reminds me, I need to pick up another bottle when I go back into town.

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Yep, it's really good I'm gonna buy some more too, as soon as I can find some. It's a bit difficult to find here since it's made in the US, and importing myself is out of the question.

I was a bit cautious at first because of the huge scoville scale numbers on the back label (1.47 something million) but after tasting it I realized it was just about right for me It wasn't too hot at all as long as the dosage wasn't too high, and even beside the hotness, the actual flavor is really nice and fruity like you mentioned earlier. I did pretty much poop fire afterwards though
Then a friend of mine commented that the scoville scale stuff mentioned on the label are for the actual pepper, and the sauce "only" has something around .7 million Not that I'd care about numbers really, I just like really hot stuff.

At this point it doesn't phase me... I actually look forwards to the second heat high as it passes through

This took about three years of casual acclimation. Started with sriracha and gradually worked my way up.

I never get heartburn. I do, however, become very aware of every inch of my intestinal tract as it travels. The carolina reaper is hands down the most delicious chili I've ever eaten. It has an almost fruitlike quality, and the delicious aftertaste lingers for around 24 hours. Other superhots like the scorpion and ghost just hurt.

Most places that have a spicy challenge will use capsaicin extracts instead of (or alongside) actual chilis. Extracts will always have that signature nasty chemical flavor to them. Granted, the purpose of the dish is to see how much pain you can take, which is why challenge dishes come with a liability waiver and rules (no silverware, no wiping your lips, etc). Not a fan of 'em personally, but they're an absolute joy to watch

Click to expand...

Capsaicin, interesting I'm gonna have to try some of those different chili'sauce you speak of! They sound like fun.

Yep, it's really good I'm gonna buy some more too, as soon as I can find some. It's a bit difficult to find here since it's made in the US, and importing myself is out of the question.

I was a bit cautious at first because of the huge scoville scale numbers on the back label (1.47 something million) but after tasting it I realized it was just about right for me It wasn't too hot at all as long as the dosage wasn't too high, and even beside the hotness, the actual flavor is really nice and fruity like you mentioned earlier. I did pretty much poop fire afterwards though
Then a friend of mine commented that the scoville scale stuff mentioned on the label are for the actual pepper, and the sauce "only" has something around .7 million Not that I'd care about numbers really, I just like really hot stuff.

I got a bottle of sauce made out of Carolina Reaper as a present and I liked it very much. It was a bit like tabasco, but not as acidy-tasting and probably a million times hotter.
I put it into pretty much everything, for example in this picture I made Tikka Masala using a pre-made spice mix, and it wasn't spicy enough. So I added a random amount of the sauce and then it was good to go

Click to expand...

Ahh, I have a bottle of that stuff too. Tasty, but not all THAT hot - it seems to me like the reapers have been pretty heavily cut in there. My usual method of trying a new hot sauce is a couple drops on a cracker or a chunk of baguette, and it didn't phase me all that much.

Over the last two years I grew Trinedad Scorpion peppers, harvesting them last fall. I still have a whole bunch of them in my freezer - the things are insanely hot, to the point where I'm not sure what to do with them, as they're really too hot to cook with, unless you're cooking for a large number of people.

What I HAVE done, however, is cut one in half and toss it into a bottle of decent tequila to make a scorpion chile infused tequila. Holy hell. It actually makes a pretty good margarita if you're into heat, but the time I tried to mix it with something sparkling, well, efferescence and extreme spice is a recipe to choke.

I did ghost chiles out of a Amazon starter kit five years ago and they were great (and I got a HUGE yield) but they weren't nearly as hot as I expected - I suspect they were crossbred with habaneros or something. Still very hot, but not quite as bad as I expected. A friend of a friend of mine has ghost seedlings from a good lineage that they were looking to get rid of, so one of them is on its way to me this year, which should be fun.